Preventable measures could help thwart premature death in men

Oct 10, 2017 News

Dr. Syed Ghazi

A number of conditions that can lead to premature death in men can be prevented. However, the implementation of measures towards this end have not been nearly enough to effectively combat this dilemma since the life expectancy rate of men, on a global scale, continues to be less than that of women.
This is in light of the fact that many men are convinced that they are too ‘macho’ to seek medical care unless it becomes painfully necessary. But this way of thinking has time and again proven to be to their detriment. This notion was recently amplified by Cancer Specialist, Dr. Syed Ghazi.
Dr. Ghazi, the Director of Outreach at the Cancer Institute of Guyana, underscored that the male gender is more likely to indulge in activities that can serve to advance the deterioration of their health.
“Men tend to smoke more, consume more alcohol, eat more…whichever more is there, they are likely to engage, including the work they tend to do.
They may not want to admit, but sometimes they have more stress and all of these things make them at risk to get not only cancers, but a number of other diseases as well,” said Dr. Ghazi.
Even as he commented on the cancer situation, he pointed out that while women are more prone to breast and cervical cancer and should seek to be screened annually, the onus is also on men to be screened for prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is cancer that starts in the prostate gland which is a walnut-sized gland at the base of the male bladder.
According to Dr. Ghazi, “prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men.” The global leading cause of cancer that affects men, and women as well, is lung cancer. In addressing prostate cancer, which is unique to men, Dr. Ghazi said that it is imperative that men take precaution, even if they are not suffering from any troubling health conditions.
“Many times it is until men feel a problem when they urinate, or when they cannot urinate altogether, that they rush to the hospital for medical attention. Sometimes they wait until their prostate gets enlarged to the size of a grapefruit, this has nothing to do with cancer, but it [the prostate] can grow with age. For some people it can grow slow and in others it can grow fast,” said Dr. Ghazi, who reported that this condition is usually linked to men who are 65 years and older.
Although the enlargement of the prostate is likely to start at a particular age, he noted that it is important for men to start screening from an even earlier age. The screening for prostate cancer is the Digital Rectal Examination. During the examination, the doctor gently puts a lubricated, gloved finger of one hand into the rectum and uses the other hand to press on the lower belly or pelvic area to determine if there is any abnormality.
But according to Dr. Ghazi, he has found that “many men would think twice to take the rectal exam…they would often make some excuse, but the question that men have to answer is ‘whether they would rather have that examination or death?’”
According to the Cancer Specialist, as soon as a man reaches the age of 35 he should be having an annual rectal examination. By the age of 45, all males should be having, in addition to the rectal examination, a prostate-specific antigen [PSA]. The PSA is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland as such the PSA tests measures the level of PSA in a man’s blood.
However, Dr. Ghazi said that for those races that are at high risk for prostate cancer, they should seek to start these tests by the age of 45. Based on studies done in the United States, Afro Americans are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer, and as such, Dr. Ghazi said that the similar trend is being applied here.

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